Manka Dizang Temple
Main Deities
About
Manka Dizang Temple is small enough to walk straight past: a single hall three bays wide, squeezed between shopfronts on Xichang Street, with no archway and no forecourt. That is exactly what makes it precious. Most of Taipei's old temples have grown bigger and bigger over two centuries and more; this one has kept the original form of a mid-Qing single-hall temple. It is dedicated to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (Dizang Wang), with Marshal Tian Du and the City God enshrined alongside. It isn't a tourist hotspot, and most of the time there are just a few elderly neighbors sitting by the door. If you want to see a temple as it originally was rather than as renovation has remade it, this is the most direct example in Taipei.
History
Manka Dizang Temple was built in 1760, the 25th year of the Qianlong reign, and repaired in 1838, the 18th year of the Daoguang reign. Under Japanese rule it faced a threat to its survival: the authorities intended to bring folk temples under government ownership, so to protect its property the temple handed management over to Manka Longshan Temple, and that arrangement carried it through. Because it was never substantially rebuilt, it keeps the complete form of a mid-Qing single-hall building and is now a Taipei City historic site. Every year on the 30th day of the 7th lunar month, the birthday of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, this usually quiet little temple sees its busiest day of the year.
IllustrationManka Dizang Temple
Wanhua District, Taipei City
Visitor Info
Address
No. 245, Xichang St, Wanhua District, Taipei City
Region
Wanhua District, Taipei City
Plan Your Visit
- Hours
- Daily 5:00 AM – 8:30 PM
- When to Go
- Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's birthday on lunar 7/30 is the liveliest time of year at this small temple; the rest of the time it is mostly quiet.
Checked on 2026-10-13 · Sources: Google Maps